noffsinger Chapter 1177 Three people traveling together must have acquaintances among them.
Chapter 1177 Three people traveling together must have acquaintances among them.
Xin Ji stood on the threshold for a while, lost in thought, until her legs went numb.
He suddenly longed to return to Fuzhou; he missed his father, mother, and grandparents.
He deliberately put Fang Ziyan's deception out of his mind, repeatedly telling himself, "He's just a fat guy who loves to lie, not worth your time."
After giving several hints, he went back to his room to change his clothes. After slowly adjusting his belt, he prepared to go to the government office to ask Shen Zheng for the Observation Mirror—he would leave as soon as he got it and would not stay in Liuyang Prefecture any longer.
He slowly stepped out of the house, slowly stepped out of the courtyard, and slowly mounted his horse.
"Clop, clop, clop." The slow horse began to move at a slow pace.
The attendant asked, puzzled, "Young master, your horse..."
Are you not full? Why aren't you walking fast?
Sinji paused, pulling on the reins. "Mind your own business!"
The master and servant were riding slowly toward the alley entrance when suddenly a rider came galloping by and passed them by.
Xin Ji smoothed her wind-blown hair, hesitated for a moment, and then casually turned her head back.
That person...
That horse...
It stopped in front of the yard he rented!
Reason told him to go to the government office to find Shen Zheng and ask for the microscopic mirror, but his body made a choice before reason could.
"Young Master?" The servant asked, puzzled, as he turned around. "Did you forget something? Let me go get it for you."
Xin Ji didn't look back, whipped his horse, and rode back to the courtyard gate.
Sitting on his horse, he craned his neck and asked the man standing at the courtyard gate, "Hey, what are you doing here? Who are you looking for?"
The man knocked on the courtyard gate, turned around and said, "I'm looking for a young master surnamed Xin, the Xin of 'hard work'."
Isn't this a coincidence?
Xin Ji thought to himself, "It just so happens that my surname is Xin!"
"What do you want from him?"
"I've come to deliver a message."
What message should we send?
Why should I tell you?
"Because I am the Young Master Xin you are looking for."
"......really?"
"Tsk." The whip warned.
“Alright. Young Master Fang said, ‘At four quarters past Xu hour, at the Moon Gazing Pavilion of Qianwei Restaurant, don’t be late.’”
The fourth quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM)!
Xin Ji paused to consider the time.
It's already 7:45 PM, and there's only 2:45 PM left until 7:45 PM. This shows how insincere the fat man's invitation was.
That being the case...
He wanted to climb up to the Moon Gazing Pavilion and ask the fat man face to face—"If you weren't sincere in inviting me, why did you make the promise?"
Ugh, I don't even have time to change my clothes, it's so annoying.
......
At the fourth quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), at Qianweilou Restaurant.
A warm yellow glow shone through the window and onto the stone slabs, making the night feel cozy and inviting.
The lobby was packed, the noise echoing against the beams, creating a deafening din.
The diners had various expressions: scholars raised their cups and discussed the questions from the recently concluded re-examination; merchants stroked their beards and talked about the upcoming autumn harvest; and wandering swordsmen opened their robes, eating meat and drinking wine with gusto.
Xin Ji arrived on the second floor just in time and stood outside the Wangyue Pavilion.
He could faintly hear people talking inside the pavilion, but the building was so noisy that he couldn't hear what they were saying at all. However, he knew that there was more than one person inside.
He thought to himself, "The fat man really isn't sincere; he even invited someone else."
But come all come.
He gestured for the waiter to open the door.
"Squeak-"
The door to the pavilion was pushed open, and the sounds of conversation and laughter from inside immediately poured out.
Looking at the person sitting in the main seat inside the pavilion, Xin Ji was stunned. He subconsciously took two steps back and looked again at the plaque above the pavilion door—Wangyue Tower.
That’s right!
The fat man had arranged to meet him at Wangyue Tower.
But can anyone tell him why Shen Zheng is inside, and why she's sitting in the main seat?
"Xin Ji is here!"
Xin Ji watched helplessly as Fang Ziyan ran towards her, then listened blankly as Fang Ziyan said, "Xin Ji, I didn't mean to send the message late. It's just that Sister Shen said the banquet has already been arranged, and I didn't know what to do, so..."
Oh.
Xin Ji understood.
So the fat man did want to treat him to a meal, but coincidentally, Shen Zheng also wanted to treat the fat man to a meal.
Can......
Can anyone tell her why the fat guy knows Shen Zheng?!
Even if his family has some money, he himself said that he is the only scholar in his family.
How could a family like that manage to establish a connection with the top local official?!
Xin Ji felt a little dizzy.
"Let's go, there are too many people outside, let's go inside and talk." Fang Ziyan pulled him inside.
After joining the cabinet, Xin Ji was even more bewildered.
Because he not only saw Shen Zheng, but also the little girl he had fought with a few days ago.
"What are you doing here?!" he asked Cui Jinyin, his eyes wide.
Cui Jinyin also stood up abruptly, her expression exactly the same as his: "The friend that Fatty Fang was talking about is you?"
Fang Ziyan, caught in the middle, was also bewildered: "Jinyin, Xinji, you... know each other?"
"Ha—" Xin Ji sneered, "Not only do we know each other, but we're practically acquainted through fistfights."
Cui Jinyin sneered, then hummed twice before looking pitifully at Shen Zheng: "Teacher, I want to sit next to you."
"Teacher?!" Xin Ji shouted, his voice cracking. "When we were in court that day, why didn't you say that Lord Shen was your teacher?"
That day, he and this girl met by chance at the entrance of the Examination Yuan. They started fighting after exchanging only a few words. The people who were trying to break up the fight dragged and pulled them to the government office, where they ended up "going to court".
Although those trivial disputes didn't need the prefect to resolve personally, and could be mediated by the yamen runners, they were still considered to be part of the prefectural government.
Unexpectedly, even under those circumstances, this girl didn't mention her relationship with Shen Zheng at all...
As he pondered this, Xin Ji began to consider withdrawing.
He really didn't expect that the girl who had fought on the roadside was Shen Zheng's student, and that the fat guy in the next cell could call Shen Zheng "sister". Could this be the legendary "three people walking together must have an acquaintance"?
Today's banquet is probably a trap; the microscopic mirror might just sprout wings and fly away before we even get our hands on it.
"Well, I won't..."
The moment the thought of backing down crossed his mind, Fang Ziyan thoughtfully pulled out a chair for him and led him to sit down, saying, "Xin Ji, let's sit next to each other."
"..." Xin Ji broke out in a cold sweat.
Fang Ziyan, completely oblivious to his unusual behavior, sat down and began explaining and introducing himself: "Xin Ji, actually, Zhao Qi and I are both from Tong'an County, no... I'd say I'm half from Tong'an County, anyway, we're both students at Tong'an County School. That man over there is my teacher, the headmaster of Tong'an County School, as for the others..."
Fang Ziyan glanced at Yu Shizhang, who was whispering with Shen Zheng, and said, "That's Grandpa Yu, also known as the Earl of Yongning. Sitting next to him is his granddaughter, Yu Nanshu, who is also my good friend. Oh, and Jinyin too..."
Fang Ziyan then brought up Cui Jinyin again: "Although I don't know what happened between you and Jinyin, Jinyin is a very nice person and is especially generous to her friends. By the way, her uncle is the Minister of Personnel."
Xin Ji: "......"
Thank you for telling me, but I would rather not have known.